Chapter 2190 The people of Guizijuan regard food as their top priority, and miracles
The imminent arrival of Shi Xiangyun and his entourage is just a slight distraction for Feng Ziying. Since there are countermeasures, Feng Ziying does not need to spend too much energy.
What is more important now is that the potato harvest season is coming.
From Feng Ziying’s arrival in northern Shaanxi, the most important thing was to promote potatoes.
In his view, this is the most realistic problem to solve in northern Shaanxi, which has poor weather conditions and mostly barren and mountainous land. He does not want to achieve the jaw-dropping output of later generations, even if it is 30% or even 20% of the output, just by not choosing the land very much. This advantage is enough to allow many people to survive without becoming hungry and homeless.
He told the state and county officials in the selected states and counties without reservation that the promotion of potato, even sweet potato, and corn planting and cultivation will become the most important criterion for assessing the ability of local officials in the future, even surpassing public security, Education was second only to taxation, and he did not dare to put this matter above taxation.
Starting in July, several prefectures and counties in Yan'an Prefecture began to plant potatoes one after another. As the potato seeds and beans transported from Tianjin began to be distributed, areas ranging from a few hundred acres to over a thousand acres began to plant potatoes. Planting was carried out, and some potatoes were planted in many areas that were not suitable for growing millet and wheat.
But this is a new thing after all. No one knows how much it will grow if planted, and the taste is still not as delicious as corn flour, so many people hold on to it. The serious skepticism and suspicion are only due to the strong promotion of the government. No one dares to risk the disapproval of the world to oppose it. There are only a few hundred acres of mountainous land on the left and right. Now in this situation, everywhere is dry and dry. Try it. It’s not a big deal to try.
However, Feng Ziying also knows that this is a matter of habituation. When starvation and hot potatoes are put together, fools know how to choose.
Feng Ziying even put down the seemingly more important military affairs and went straight to Mizhi, which was more moderate than the more remote Shenmu and Fugu. Feng Ziying wanted to take a look at the potato harvest here.
Returning to Mizhi, Feng Ziying could feel the change in the attitude of the officials and people of Mizhi County towards her.
If before, I only relied on some situations opened up in the military to make people like Xia Zhiling, Pan Ruzhen, Xu Junyang and Wu Degui a little more respectful and awe, then now, these people have completely attached themselves to me. around.
The investigation of the Four Guards of Xi'an by the Censor of the Procuratorate even affected the government offices of Xi'an. The Guyuan Army entered Xi'an City, forcing the Four Guards of Xi'an to carry out a large-scale cleanup. , were all seen by these local gangsters, and made them realize that holding Feng Ziying's thigh is the smartest thing to do, not to mention that Feng Ziying was also beaten out of Yan'an Mansion, such an opportunity that comes first, first come first, with the advantage of What's not to catch?
Xu Junyang noticed early on that Feng Ziying attached great importance to potato planting. Although he was skeptical about Feng Ziying's mention of potato yields of more than fifteen stones per mu, after all, northern Shaanxi now mainly cultivates corn and wheat. The two seasons of summer, wheat and autumn millet combined only cost about two dan. No matter how extraordinary these potatoes are, if you double them, no, quadruple them, one season only costs four dans, which is equivalent to 600 kilograms in modern times. That would be unacceptable. It’s a big deal. The key is that potatoes are too unselective compared to corn and wheat that require a lot of irrigation.
According to the governor, this thing can be grown two seasons a year, which means that one acre can produce thirty stones. How many people can it feed? This is too appalling.
In northern Shaanxi, where people are dying of hunger everywhere, this is simply a better way to make a living than farming gold.
Xu Junyang has seen that even though potatoes are not as resistant to hunger as corn and wheat, twice as many potatoes can almost equal one portion of wheat or corn. Even worse, three portions of potatoes can equal one portion of corn and wheat. Then It’s also a great deal.
Standing in the field, Feng Ziying looked at the busy farmers, accompanied by Pan Ruzhen and Xu Junyang.
This week followed the Ming system, and the weights and measures were also complicated. Grain was measured in stones, but after drying corn, it could be measured in stones, buckets, and liters. This was true for wheat, corn, and rice, but obviously potatoes and sweet potatoes could not be measured in this way. If we are more scientific, we should consider calculating by market jin. Following the Ming system, one market jin is about one pound and two taels in modern times.
As for grains such as rice and wheat, one stone usually weighs one hundred and twenty kilograms, which is about one hundred and forty kilograms in the modern market. But for potatoes, this calculation cannot be done.
"Sir, it all depends on the result after the scale is weighed. To be honest, we didn't even count it in our minds. After all, it is our first time to plant. Those people sent by Master Xu to help guide them all swore that it must be more than two thousand pounds. Well, if calculated in stones, it would be eighteen stones, we can’t believe it.”
Xu Junyang glanced at Pan Ruzhen, and then said: "Sui De, Fugu and Shenmu have also been planted, as well as Fushi, which is slightly later than us. It is estimated that it is about ten days behind. If we average it out, we will know in the end What is the approximate output?"
"It seems that you don't have any confidence in your heart, and you don't quite trust what Mr. Xu has painstakingly cultivated. I am a hundred times more confident." Feng Ziying raised her head and laughed, "How about we make a bet, if we exceed If it’s two thousand catties, then you two should treat me to a treat. If it’s not more than two thousand catties, then I’ll treat you two as well.”
Pan Ruzhen and Xu Junyang both agreed with a smile. This was a good opportunity to get closer to their bosses, and of course they were happy to see it come to fruition.
The harvesting method is very rough, which involves digging and setting aside seedlings. However, people sent by Xu Guangqi helped with guidance, and everyone was very interested in seeing how much could be harvested from one acre of land.
When it started to get dark, the potatoes from the 30 acres of the experimental field were collected and roughly weighed, weighing more than 65,000 kilograms, even including the possibility that there might still be some residue after washing. Soil and some undried water will never be less than 64,000 kilograms. On average, the yield per mu is more than 2,100 kilograms.
Feng Ziying roughly remembers that in later generations, the average yield of potatoes per mu was more than 3,000 to 4,000 kilograms, and there were even high yields of 8,000 to 10,000 kilograms. Even if three or four thousand kilograms were converted into one kilogram, it would be 2,500 kilograms to 3,500 kilograms. More than kilograms, one acre in later generations is 667 square meters per acre, and one acre follows the Ming system and is slightly smaller, so the yield of 2,100 kilograms per mu is already considered good. After all, this is the first Of course, this has a lot to do with the choice of good land and the very diligent care.
If we really want to promote it on a large scale, it would be good to have 1,500 kilograms, but after two seasons, it is still more than 3,000 kilograms. Compared with planting corn and wheat, it only costs more than 500 kilograms and has to choose a site. In comparison, that is really a huge difference.
Pan Ruzhen and Xu Junyang couldn't believe such an astonishing yield. They even went to check it out in person to see if someone was deliberately trying to please Shangguan. However, only 30 acres of potatoes were planted in this area. It was impossible to transport potatoes, and the potatoes that had been weighed were also there, real and without moisture. Only then did Pan Ruzhen and Xu Junyang accept this reality.
You must know that the two of them have actually made some calculations in their hearts. Since Xu Guangqi and Feng Ziying value this thing so much, and they got it from Xiyi, maybe this thing may really have a high yield, but no matter how high the yield is, It can't be outrageous. Eight hundred kilograms should be the limit. It will already change the agricultural production structure of a place, especially in places like northern Shaanxi that suffer from poor land, rugged mountains and poor irrigation. Filling the stomach is the biggest political achievement, but If this thing is really popularized and production is not reduced, it will really become a reality that people in the three prefectures of northern Shaanxi will no longer go hungry.
Of course this is an ideal state, unless the court does not collect taxes or pay labor, but in any case this thing is enough to change the fate of these poor people in northern Shaanxi.
Four areas have been selected in Mizhi, including good land that is easy to irrigate, valleys with average conditions, slopes with poor conditions, and mountains with the worst conditions as pilot sites. Feng Ziying led a group of people to inspect these four areas on the spot. The situation in the experimental field.
The best land has a yield of about 2,200 kilograms per mu. The valley land, which is the area Feng Ziying and the others first looked at, has a yield of 2,100 kilograms per mu. The yield of the **** land has dropped sharply to about 1,600 kilograms, while the mountainous land has a direct yield of about 1,600 kilograms. It dropped to a maximum of 1,200 kilograms. This may have something to do with the waiter's hands, but in any case, the results of this experiment have exceeded the best imagination.
The total land of 330 acres produces nearly 500,000 kilograms of potatoes. According to Xu Junyang, ten potatoes per person, which is about two kilograms, is enough for a strong man to get through a day without working.
This means that these 500,000 kilograms of potatoes can allow 8,000 refugees to survive for a month. This is almost a miracle. Just 330 acres of land can allow 8,000 refugees to survive for a month. If Thirty-three hundred acres, or even thirty-three thousand acres, wouldn't it be enough to support tens of thousands of refugees for a year, and that doesn't even count as being able to grow crops for two seasons.
This is not a theoretical algorithm, but a result that can be turned into reality. Even Feng Ziying mentioned that the seeds may degrade in the second season and the yield will decline. However, even if each round of planting is 90% of the previous round, Even calculated at the 80% level, it is already a miracle.
(End of this chapter)